Gambling is a billion dollar industry that is growing by the year. Yes, most people can enjoy an occasional visit to a casino, participate in an office betting pool or buy weekly lottery tickets. It can be difficult to know if someone has a problem with gambling. Initially we may not want to believe that someone we know or love has a problem with gambling. It can also be difficult to detect a gambling problem, because many people who gamble do not show their feelings and may lie or get angry if questioned about their behaviour. Compulsive gambling is much like alcohol or drug addiction, it tends to worsen after the start of treatment. Pathological gambling is a chronic disorder, and relapse does happen. Consider whether you may have an obsession with gambling. One of the major symptoms of compulsive gambling is an obsession and preoccupation with gambling. You may think about gambling all the time and want to be gambling when you are not. You may get cranky when you can't gamble, or schedule your life around your gambling. Symptoms of Gambling Addiction. Continuing to gamble because you've fallen victim to the gambler's fallacy, or just because you can't quit. Intense guilt or remorse after gambling. Gambling to escape those feelings of guilt or to recoup your losses. Reliving wins to try to recover that rush.
Gambling addiction is a type of impulse-control disorder where you have little or no control over your urge to gamble, even when you are aware that your actions can hurt yourself and others and even when the odds are against you.
There is often an underlying issue which causes you to start gambling. Examples may include stress caused by problems at work, unresolved issues within a relationship, drug or alcohol addiction, or a form of escapism from bereavement or any difficult emotional period in your life.
At Priory, we understand that acknowledging you have a gambling problem and seeking help can be difficult at first. Whether you have lost a significant amount of money on one bet or over a period of time, your gambling addiction can be rectified no matter how severe your habit.
Our approach to treating gambling addiction symptoms involves psychological support or intervention therapy sessions using evidence-based approaches to initially help to understand the reasons why you have developed a gambling addiction, which can be further explored as part of individual or group therapy sessions at one of our specialist addiction treatment centres.
Symptoms Of A Gambler
Feeling a constant urge to gamble even when you are already in a difficult financial situation, or gambling as a way out of financial difficulty are both common symptoms of a gambling addiction. Gambling addiction can also cause problems in relationships and at work, while the cost of funding a gambling addiction can become a huge burden as well as an emotional pressure.
Symptoms Of A Gambler
Common symptoms of a gambling addiction
Symptoms Of A Compulsive Gambler
Gambling addiction may be caused by underlying stress linked to a difficult time in your life, whether work, relationship or financially related, as well as having an addictive personality prone to compulsive behaviour.
